48 held captive in Gaza.
26 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
148 living hostages rescued.
59 hostage bodies rescued.
1,934 Israelis killed.
469 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
88 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
20 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.
32,374 estimated projectiles fired at Israel.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines

– IDF concerned Hamas is hiding hostages in Gaza City tunnels.
– Edan Alexander to return to the IDF.
– More than half of Gaza City has been emptied.
– Alternative report: almost all Hamas terrorists are heading to fight in Gaza City.
– IDF increasingly using remote controlled means in Gaza.
– Hamas blocking evacuations, stealing baby formula, destroying humanitarian aid routes.
– Alarming: rockets and production means found near Ramallah.
– 75 suspected terrorists arrested in Judea and Samaria
– Security bolstered in Judea and Samaria for High Holidays.
– Three terrorists, one observation vessel hit in Lebanon.
– Syria ready for security agreement with Israel.
– Netanyahu raises concerns over Egypt with Rubio.

Hostages

News 12 reports that the IDF halted strikes on tunnels in Gaza City, due to concerns that hostages are being held underground. This creates a high-risk situation for both the hostages, and the IDF soldiers who enter areas where Hamas terrorists are still able to pop out of the ground anywhere at any moment.

**

Former hostage, Edan Alexander, spoke at an event in support of the IDF, and announced the unbelievable: “Next month, God willing, I will return to Israel and once again wear the IDF uniform, and I will proudly serve alongside my brothers. My story does not end with survival—it continues in service.”

Gaza

A siren in the industrial area of Ashkelon on Shabbat was a false alarm.

**

The IDF estimates that more than half of the million people who were in Gaza have now left. Most of the remaining civilians are in the coastal area. If the pace continues, the city will empty out in the coming weeks.

On Thursday I shared Doron Kadosh’s report (IDF Radio) that two thirds of Hamas terrorists have left Gaza City, to ensure survival. On Friday, Amit Segal (News 12) shared the complete opposite. Amit Segal has proven to be correct the most often during this war.

Segal believes that Hamas sees the fight over Gaza City as their last stand against Israel—and is therefore sending all their fighting strength in, totaling 10,000 terrorists.

Segal says Hamas is shocked that Israel is not behaving in its old ways: of avoiding populated areas and surrendering when hostages are taken.

If this is the case, which Netanyahu and the government cabinet seem to think so, then the IDF won’t need to follow up with a major operation in Central Gaza, since Hamas will mostly be gone by the time Gaza City is razed.

**

Over the last 24 hours, the Air Force has hit around 100 terror targets inside Gaza.

There are four IDF divisions operating inside Gaza.

Division 99 is operating in various parts of Northern Gaza, including Beit Hanoun, finding and eliminating the last terrorists. They recently directed an airstrike which eliminated the deputy head of military intelligence in Hamas’s Al-Bureij Battalion.

Division 162 is both in Jabalia (just north of Gaza City) and inside Gaza City.

Division 98 is operating in the heart of Gaza City.

The Gaza Division (143) is continuing operations in the Khan Younis and Rafah areas. They are still finding and destroying tunnels in these areas.

The IDF is working to surround Gaza City, and cut the terrorists off. They’ve now reached the al-Shati neighborhood, on the city’s northern coast. While half of the southern slide is being choked off through Zeitoun, two paths are left open for Gazans to evacuate towards the south.

The troops on ground are increasingly using remote-controlled methods to destroy Hamas infrastructure, and also encourage civilians to evacuate where they have ignored the many warnings.

One of the most successful methods utilizes old and expired APCs. The vehicles are loaded with explosives, and driven by remote control into heavily booby-trapped neighborhoods. The vehicle is then blown up, causing heavy damage to the entire street, and triggering boob-traps to detonate. Gazans have learned to evacuate immediately at the sound of these old APCs, and fear them even more than tanks.

For now, it seems like between 100 – 200 terrorists are being eliminated per day. If it’s true that there are 10,000 terrorists in Gaza City, this will have to speed up significantly. Many of the terrorists are likely hiding in tunnels, along with hostages. The next weeks will tell how the IDF plans to deal with them.

Humanitarian Aid

The IDF’s COGAT division has not yet updated the recent data on aid entering Gaza. Dozens of trucks are still entering daily, though at least 10% less since the forced closure of the Allenby Crossing from Jordan, after a Jordanian terrorist killed two IDF soldiers.

COGAT says that thousands of tents are waiting for the UN and international aid organizations to collect them from the Kerem Shalom crossing. In recent weeks alone, over 24,000 tents and tarpaulins have entered Gaza.

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Hamas has been hard at work sabotaging aid efforts. In addition to shooting at civilians leaving Gaza City, Hamas has been blocking food deliveries.

COGAT says Hamas gunman robbed four UNICEF aid trucks carrying baby formula in Gaza City yesterday. UNICEF also put out a statement, but didn’t name Hamas, and only blamed “armed individuals.” UNICEF says that the formula was intended to feed 2,700 malnourished children.

In another incident, UN teams were working to open a new aid delivery route to deliver aid to the new humanitarian zones in southern Gaza. Hamas fired at the UN team, and forced them to leave. The terrorists then took the UN vehicles, and used them to build a sand barrier to block the route.

Judea & Samaria

In a very alarming development, a terror cell was found near Ramallah producing rockets, and preparing to launch them at Jewish communities.

On Thursday night (into Friday morning) Israeli security forces arrested a terror cell near Ramallah, which had attempted to launch a rocket from the village of Na’ama last week.

The security forces surrounded the building where the terrorists were staying, and forced the three terrorists out.

Inside the building, the Israeli security forces found dozens of rockets, including two rockets intended for launch without warheads, as well as dozens of explosive charges and explosive materials, along with findings linking them to rocket production and attempted rocket launches. They also found a lathe, used for rocket production.

After a thorough search and intelligence gathering, the troops destroyed the rockets and equipment.

According to Amit Segal, rockets were found ready to launch, aimed at Israeli communities outside Judea and Samaria—over the Green Line.

**

Over the last week, Israeli forces operated in dozens of villages throughout Judea and Samaria, and arrested more than 75 wanted individuals. Amongst them, 13 known terrorsts from Qabatia, and 9 Hamas terrorists and arms dealers in the Tulkarm and Salafi areas. Weapons and ammunition were also confiscated.

**

Ahead of the High Holiday season, the IDF is bolstering security in Judea and Samaria with 8 additional companies. Once the additional forces are deployed, the area will be guarded by the equivalent of 23 battalions. The additional forces will remain in place until after Sukkot, in mid October.

Lebanon

The IAF is continuing to eliminate Hezbollah terrorists and hit terror targets in violation of the ceasefire agreement. Since Friday, the IDF reported four targeted eliminations and destroyed targets:

– Terrorist Amar al-Hail Qatibani, commander of Hezbollah’s Sinai sector in, in southern Lebanon.
– A terrorist from Hezbollah’s elite Radwan forces in the Tabnin area in southern Lebanon.
– A vessel at sea, off the coast of Naqoura in southern Lebanon, which was used by Hezbollah to gather intelligence on IDF forces.
– A terrorist in the Arnon area in southern Lebanon, who was attempting to gather intelligence on the activity of IDF forces in Southern Lebanon.

Syria

There are growing reports of an imminent security agreement between Syria and Israel. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told a Turkish newspaper that “Syria has no choice but to reach a security agreement with Israel.” And “Syria knows how to fight but is not interested in war.”

Other

During their meeting in Jerusalem on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio with a detailed list of Egyptian activities in the Sinai that constitute substantial violations of the 1979 peace treaty. As a guarantor of the treaty, the United States is obligated to ensure its enforcement.

According to Israeli intelligence, Egypt has not only carried out a significant military buildup in the Sinai, but has also extended runways at local air bases to accommodate fighter jets and constructed underground facilities believed to be intended for missile storage.